Interesting Questions Surface During The Rest Day

GAME RECAP: No Game Yesterday

Phillies take some time to recover from a rough couple of series and to try and find the fire they had before their recent struggles.

PHILS PHACTS:

• Phillies leadoff hitter Odubel Herrera is tied for sixth in the NL batting race with a .327 average. He hit a three-run homer on Wednesday in Detroit.
• Cubs outfielder Dexter Fowler is 9-for-27 in his last six games. He is 2-for-3 lifetime against Morgan.
• The Cubs have cooled off a little bit from their hot start to the season, going 4-6 in their past 10 games. But they took two out of three against the division-rival Cardinals. 

NEXT GAME:

The Phillies open a three-game series at Wrigley Field on Friday, with Adam Morgan (1-2, 5.61 ERA) taking the mound against Cubs left-hander Jon Lester (4-3, 2.60 ERA). Morgan gave up two runs in six innings in his last start against the Braves, a bounce-back performance after giving up seven earned runs on eight hits against the Reds in the outing before that. He's faced the Cubs only once in his career, losing to them last season after allowing four runs on seven hits over five innings. Lester will look to have a similar type of comeback outing after he got rocked for five earned runs in 2 2/3 innings at San Francisco last Saturday. He is 4-0 lifetime against Philadelphia, with a 1.76 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP.

PHILS PHACTS:

More Questions And Answers From Todd Zolecki – If the Phillies continue to win, will they be buyers before the Aug. 1 Trade Deadline? -- Corey K., Media, PA. How many people thought this question would be asked in May? Not many, I assume. The Phillies are one of baseball's best stories this season, but let's let things play out. Only 14 teams in the past 10 seasons have finished .500 or better despite being outscored. The 2009 Mariners were the most fortunate of the bunch, finishing 85-77 despite a -52 run differential. (Only four teams in baseball history have made the postseason despite being outscored.) The Phils are on pace to be outscored by 107 runs, so the odds are not in their favor. But OK, let's say the Phillies keep winning close games and defy the odds. I can see them buying before the Trade Deadline, but not in the way they have in the past when they acquired Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt and Hunter Pence. Those teams were going for the kill, sacrificing top young talent for the final piece to push them over the top. The 2016 Phillies are not a piece away, and they are still very much geared toward the future. For that reason, if the Phils acquire talent, they will not sacrifice one of their top prospects in the process. No, I think something more likely will be acquiring a player in a salary dump, or acquiring somebody of a more modest means. Think less about talents comparable to Lee, Oswalt and Pence and more about talents like Joe Blanton, who cost the Phillies relatively little in 2008. But if you're wondering if Philadelphia would trade prospects like Nick Williams and Zach Eflin for a two-month rental, I would be absolutely stunned. Phils president Andy MacPhail and general manager Matt Klentak have a plan in place, and they have stuck to it. I would be floored if they suddenly tossed that aside. What is going to happen with Ryan Howard? -- John G., Mt. Laurel, N.J. It is sometimes helpful to read between the lines. Pete Mackanin said in Spring Training he planned to platoon Howard and Darin Ruf at first. He held true to form, despite their struggles. Then once Tommy Joseph replaced Ruf on the 25-man roster, Mackanin said he still planned to platoon Howard at first base. But if you notice, Mackanin said earlier this week he now plans to evaluate the situation weekly. "At some point, it may come to that, but I wouldn't say it's imminent," Mackanin said about Joseph winning the first-base job. The door is ajar. The Phillies are playing well, despite Howard hitting .160 with a .585 OPS. But they need offense, and if Joseph hits consistently, he will get more playing time. What happens to Howard after that will be interesting. Howard showed leadership earlier this week when he pulled Odubel Herrera aside after he failed to hustle to first base. I'm not sure anybody else on the team could do that, other than maybe Carlos Ruiz. If Joseph starts playing more regularly, perhaps Howard adjusts to a backup role, mentoring the young players on the roster while playing a couple times a week. He could be released too, although I would be guessing if I said I thought it would happen. But I will say Howard's attitude has been remarkable this season. I think he sees the end is near and he is trying to make the best of it. That doesn't help the Phillies' offense, but it is worth noting.

Minor Performances – A pair of Phillies' top prospects had three-hit games in Lehigh Valley's win over Pawtucket. J.P. Crawford, the No. 3 overall prospect (Phillies' No. 1), scored a pair of runs in the game, but more importantly, he found his stroke offensively. Since he was promoted to Triple-A, Crawford got off to a bit of a slow start. The shortstop went 3-for-15 over his first four games, but on Thursday night everything was clicking as Crawford went 3-for-5. But Crawford wasn't the only Phillies' farmhand to have a good night at the plate. Nick Williams, Philadelphia's No. 3 prospect, was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate and raised his average to .279.

Crawford Catching Attention – Here's a look at top prospects to watch Friday in Minor League action: Hitter to watch: J.P. Crawford (Phillies' No. 1) Lehigh Valley vs. Louisville. Crawford, the No. 3 overall prospect, got off to a bit of a slow start when he was promoted to Triple-A, but the young shortstop may be finding his rhythm. After going 3-for-15 over his first five games with the IronPigs, Crawford went 3-for-5 and scored a pair of runs Thursday, generating some momentum that he'd like to build on at 7:05 p.m. ET on MiLB.TV.

Today In Phils History – During the same game that the Giants’ Casey Stengel was ejected in 1923, the Phillies Cy Williams set a new major league homerun record when he hit his 15^th of the month. Speaking of homeruns, today marks 2 years since Ben Revere, after 1,566 career at bats, hit his first major league homerun. On the mound, Pretzel Pezzullo got start and the win in his major league debut in 1935 but lost his start the following day. In 1973, pitcher Wayne Twitchell struck out for a record 9^th consecutive time at the plate.  

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies are currently 26-21 this season putting them on pace to beat most preseason predictions. The Phillies finished the spring exceeding most expectations compiling a record of 15-11-3 (18-11-3 if you include the exhibition games against Reading and the University of Tampa). All time, the Phillies are 47-55-1 on this day. I expect the Phillies to finish in the bottom half of the division but not last in the NL East by finishing the season with a 77-85 record. Let the rebuild begin!

Phillies Can’t Hold Off Mets in Extras

GAME RECAP: Mets Edge Phillies 5-4

Wilmer Flores hit a walk-off single Tuesday at Citi Field, leading the Mets to a 5-4 win over the Phillies in 10 innings. Juan Lagares sparked the winning rally with a leadoff single against Jeanmar Gomez in the 10th, moving into scoring position when Lucas Duda drew a walk off Elvis Araujo. After Daniel Murphy hit into a double play and Michael Cuddyer walked, Flores then served a single into left-center field to plate Lagares. "It's a good feeling, obviously because we got the win," Flores said. "That's always a good feeling." Fresh off eight shutout innings last time out against the Cardinals, Mets starter Jacob deGrom dominated early to extend his scoreless-innings streak to 15, before Hansel Robles allowed two inherited runners to score in the eighth. Robles also gave up one of his own to turn a three-run lead into a 3-3 tie, before Maikel Franco drove home the go-ahead run with a single off Carlos Torres. But the Mets fought back with a game-tying run in the bottom of the eighth, when Flores plated Duda, who had drawn a leadoff walk, with a sacrifice fly off Phillies reliever Ken Giles. Franco prevented that rally from being fatal when he made a spectacular barehanded play on Darrell Ceciliani's soft grounder to third. "Obviously, we had a rough eighth inning, but we kept pushing," Flores said. "We never gave up. We got it back."

OTHER NOTES FROM THE DAY:

• Franco came up with a two-out, go-ahead single in the top half of the eighth inning. Then in the bottom half, the Mets had Murphy on third base with two outs. He represented the go-ahead run when Ceciliani chopped a ball to the left of the mound. Franco charged and made a fantastic off-balance, barehanded snag and throw to first base to end the inning. "That's total instincts and arm strength and ability just taking over," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said.
• The Phillies did not have a runner reach second base until the eighth inning, when Carlos Ruiz and Cesar Hernandez reached on singles against deGrom. He left the game, Robles entered and everything changed in an instant. Ben Revere tripled to clear the bases and Freddy Galvis singled to score Revere to tie the game.
• Utley went 2-for-4 with one walk. It was his fifth multihit game out of his last seven. He is hitting .417 (15-for-36) with five doubles, one triple, six RBIs and a 1.111 OPS in his last 11 games.
• "I didn't get as much on it as I would like in an ideal situation." -- Phillies second baseman Chase Utley, whose flip to Galvis at second base arrived low and late in the third inning. It prevented a double play and led to a three-run rally for the Mets.
• Phillies pitchers have struggled in day games this season, with a 4.65 ERA. That's almost a full run higher than in night games, in which the Phillies have an ERA of 3.70.
• Both teams have been stymied by right-handed pitching so far this season. The Phillies and Mets occupy the National League's last and second-to-last spots, respectively, in batting average against righties.
• Mets right fielder Curtis Granderson has three career hits against O'Sullivan -- all home runs. In 10 career plate appearances, he's also struck out twice.

NEXT GAME:

Noah Syndergaard will make his fourth Major League start Wednesday, closing a three-game home series against Sean O'Sullivan and the Phillies, who will be trying to salvage the finale at Citi Field. After being called up last month, Syndergaard has pitched well, but to mixed results. He carries a 1-2 record and a 3.63 ERA. He struggled with control in his first start -- walking four batters in 5 1/3 innings -- but allowed just one free pass in his last two starts. In five starts this season, O'Sullivan is 1-3 with a 3.54 ERA. He has never faced the Mets as a starting pitcher. Neither right-hander has pitched past the sixth inning this season. Syndergaard could change that after Mets manager Terry Collins announced a switch to a six-man rotation designed to give Syndergaard, Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom extra rest.

PHILS PHACTS:

Both Sides Of The Ball – This is why the Phillies think Maikel Franco has a bright future. This is why they want him at third base. Franco came up with a two-out, go-ahead single in the top of the eighth inning in Tuesday's 5-4 loss to the Mets in 10 innings at Citi Field. He then kept the game tied when he made a fantastic, barehanded play and throw to first base to end the bottom half of the inning. The hit was big. The play was spectacular. The Phillies had runners at the corners with one out when Mets left-hander Alex Torres struck out Ryan Howard looking on a 1-2 fastball. Mets right-hander Carlos Torres entered to face Franco, who had hit just .115 (3-for-26) in his last seven games, including his first three at-bats against Mets right-hander Jacob deGrom on Tuesday. But Franco, the Phillies' No. 3 prospect, laced a 2-0 cutter into left field to score Freddy Galvis to give the Phillies a 4-3 lead. "A big moment for him," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said. "He has that potential of getting a hit in that situation in my book. It was good to see him come through there." But back to the play. Phillies setup man Ken Giles walked Lucas Duda to start the bottom of the eighth and it came back to haunt him as Duda scored on a sacrifice fly by Wilmer Flores to tie the game. The Mets then had Daniel Murphy on third with two outs when Darrell Ceciliani chopped a ball to the left of the mound. Franco charged, barehanded the ball and threw off-balance to first base to get Ceciliani to end the inning. Not many third basemen could make that play. Franco did. "I mean, it's tough," Franco said. "It's really tough." Neither Franco nor Sandberg thought Franco would be able to nab Ceciliani. "Not really," Franco said. "No, I did not," Sandberg said. "When you're talking about a swinging bunt, you're not even in and you might not even have the right angle to defend a bunt. So he has to come straight at the ball, field it ... that's total instincts and arm strength and ability just taking over."

Walk This Way – Walks continue to haunt the Phillies' bullpen. The Phillies scored four runs in the top of the eighth inning to take a one-run lead in Tuesday's 5-4 loss to the Mets in 10 innings at Citi Field. But a leadoff walk in the bottom of the eighth inning led to the tying run and a single and a walk to start the 10th allowed the Mets to win the game. The Phillies' bullpen leads Major League Baseball with 74 walks. The Phillies have lost five of their last six games. They need to win Wednesday's series finale to avoid a sweep. "Walks came into play," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said. Phillies setup man Ken Giles walked Lucas Duda on seven pitches to start the eighth inning. Daniel Murphy followed with a double into the right-field corner to put runners on second and third with no outs. Duda scored the tying run on Wilmer Flores' sacrifice fly to center field. "Yeah, he was out of the zone right from the get-go," Sandberg said about Giles. "Looked like he was really struggling to get the ball down and actually throw strikes down in the zone. He was falling behind and it was a little bit of a struggle for him." Jeanmar Gomez pitched the ninth and started the 10th, when he served up a single to Juan Lagares. Sandberg called for left-hander Elvis Araujo to face Duda. Entering the season, this would have been a spot for left-hander Jake Diekman, but Sandberg said they had Diekman slated as their long man if the game were to go deep into extra innings. Diekman has a 7.56 ERA in 20 appearances. Araujo walked Duda to put runners on first and second with no outs. Araujo got Murphy to hit into a double play, but he walked Michael Cuddyer to put runners at the corners. Flores followed with a single to left-center to win it. Sandberg said they did not consider intentionally walking Flores to face the light-hitting Eric Campbell because he wanted to give Araujo some wiggle room. In other words, Araujo already walked two batters on his own. Loading the bases in that situation might have been an issue. Sandberg also said he gave no consideration to using closer Jonathan Papelbon in either inning. Typically, most managers do not use their closer in a tie game on the road. "You've got to have a closer if you get the lead somewhere," Sandberg said. "Then you get burned the other way."

Front Office Face Palm – Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. acknowledged the firestorm he caused Tuesday in Philadelphia following comments he made about Phillies fans, saying they "don't understand the game" and "then they [gripe] and complain because we don't have a plan." He apologized before Tuesday's game against the Mets at Citi Field. "I'm a fan myself," Amaro said. "I understand the passion and the knowledge that our fans have for our game and the other major sports, all the other sports in Philly. The comments weren't meant to disparage our fans by any stretch of the imagination. I probably used my words incorrectly or poorly. I want to apologize for that." The crux of the comments in a CSNPhilly.com story centered on some fans' desire to see the team's top prospects promoted to the big leagues on a rebuilding team. Amaro has said repeatedly those prospects will not be rushed. Amaro's harsh comments resonated loudly among a frustrated fan base. The Phillies have been losing more and more since they won a franchise-record 102 games in 2011, despite remaining among the top spenders in baseball. They finished 81-81 in 2012 and 73-89 the next two seasons. They entered Tuesday 19-28, which is the fourth-worst record in baseball. The organization initiated a rebuilding plan once Pat Gillick became team president last August, but that has not removed Amaro from the hot seat. Gillick has publicly supported Amaro, but Amaro's contract expires at the end of this season and Gillick has said Amaro's status will not be addressed before then. It is not a stretch to think Amaro's comments this week could come back to haunt him. "The biggest thing that bothers me about it is how the organization is perceived -- not me personally," Amaro said. "We've always been one of those organizations, at least as long as I've been in the front office, to understand the fan and understand that the fans are the people who pay our salaries and support us. Am I worried about it for me? No. I'm worried about it for the organization, because they shouldn't have to suffer because I made a bad quote." Amaro spoke with Gillick on Tuesday. "We had a discussion about it, and he said it was unfortunate and thought it was taken out of context," Amaro said. "If you look at the breadth of the story ... our job is to make sure the fans love this club for a long time, and we have to do what we can to put the team in a position for the fans to enjoy it. Sadly, that point gets lost because of my quote." Amaro said the Phillies will continue to develop their prospects at what the organization considers the appropriate speed. Right-hander and Phillies No. 2 prospect Aaron Nola, who many fans are clamoring to see, has made 20 Minor League starts. That is fewer than Max Scherzer (30), Cole Hamels (36), Clayton Kershaw (44), Matt Harvey (46), Sonny Gray (53) and Shelby Miller (78) made before their big league promotions. "We have to build these guys in a way that prepares them to be Major Leaguers," Amaro said. That part of the message makes sense, but can fans get past the other part? "I think the thing that bothers me the most about this stuff that happened today and the quotes I made is that I don't want to detract from the fact that there are some really positive things happening here in a way that the fans can focus on those," Amaro said. "Hopefully they can focus on the progress as opposed to my misguided quotes."

Draft Time – Three members of the 500 Home Run Club -- Ken Griffey Jr., Reggie Jackson and Mike Schmidt -- and 20 other former All-Stars will headline the list of team representatives on the floor at MLB Network's Studio 42 when the 2015 MLB Draft gets underway on June 8. MLB announced the annual list of club reps on Tuesday and it is clear that the 50th anniversary of the event will be celebrated in style on that first night of selections in Secaucus, N.J. Griffey, a likely first-ballot inductee next summer, will sit at the Mariners table in a room that includes current Hall of Famers including Jackson (Yankees table), Schmidt (Phillies), Tommy Lasorda (Dodgers), and Andre Dawson and Tony Perez (both Marlins). Other former All-Stars who will represent the clubs include: Rick Aguilera (Twins), Bob Boone (Nationals), Johnny Damon (Royals), Ryan Dempster (Cubs), Gary DiSarcina (Angels), Steve Finley (Padres), Ryan Franklin (Cardinals), Ralph Garr (Braves), Luis Gonzalez and J.J. Putz (D-backs), Ben Sheets (Brewers), Lee Smith (Giants), Mario Soto (Reds), B.J. Surhoff (Orioles), Robby Thompson (Indians), Alan Trammell (Tigers), Tim Wakefield (Red Sox) and Jack Wilson (Pirates). Surhoff (Milwaukee in 1985) and Griffey (Seattle in '87) were each No. 1 overall Draft picks. MLB Network and MLB.com will have live coverage of the first night at this Draft, covering the top 70 picks -- or through Round 2 -- starting at 7 p.m. ET. MLB.com will provide live pick-by-pick coverage of Rounds 3-10 on Day 2, starting at 1 p.m. ET. Then rounds 11-40 can be heard live on MLB.com on June 10, beginning at noon ET. Prior to the start of the Draft, MLB Network and MLB.com will air a Draft preview show starting at 6 ET. Of course, the previewing already is well underway. Go to MLB.com/draft to see the Top 100 Prospects list, projected top picks from MLB.com analysts Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo, the 2015 order of selection and more. Follow @MLBDraft now to see what Draft hopefuls, clubs and experts are saying. Arizona has the top overall pick, so the first table to see action on that Monday will feature a pair of former All-Stars on the phone with the club's war room back in Phoenix. Gonzalez was a fourth-round Draft pick by Houston in 1988 and Putz a sixth-rounder by Seattle in '99. Shortstops Dansby Swanson of Vanderbilt and Brendan Rodgers of Lake Mary (Fla.) High were 1-2 in Callis' mock draft last week. Ten clubs each have two selections in the first round: Astros (2 and 5), Rockies (3 and 27), Braves (14 and 28), Yankees (16 and 30), Giants (18 and 31), Pirates (19 and 32), Royals (21 and 33), Tigers (22 and 34), Dodgers (24 and 35) and Orioles (25 and 36). The Braves have a Major League-high five selections within the first 75 picks. MLB Network's live coverage will feature news, analysis, interviews with club front office personnel and representatives, footage from club draft rooms, and features and interviews with prospects and newly drafted players. MLB Network's Greg Amsinger, Peter Gammons, Dan O'Dowd, Harold Reynolds and Mayo will anchor the live coverage with contributions from MLB Network's Darryl Hamilton, Al Leiter, Pedro Martinez, Dan Plesac, Bill Ripken, Sam Ryan, John Smoltz, Tom Verducci, Heidi Watney and Matt Yallof, as well as Callis and John Manuel of Baseball America. MLB.com will provide Draft Tracker, the always-popular live interactive app that includes a searchable database of more than 1,500 draft-eligible players with statistics, scouting reports and video highlights. In addition to @MLBDraft for live updates and commentary, follow @MLBDraftTracker for tweets of all picks as they are made.

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies are starting the season as expected and are now near the bottom of the NL east at 19-29. Given the departures, aging stars, injuries, and performance this spring, don’t expect their competitive place in the standings to last. All time, the Phillies are 47-55-1 on this day.